Modulating reflector adjustable as to normal position



Feb. 12, 1929. v1,702,080

- J. H. HAMMOND, JR

MODULATING REFLECTOR ADJUSTABLE AS T0 NORMAL POSITION Filed DGO. 5, 1925I5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Mmmm zy ff M@ Feb. 12, 1929; 1,702,080

J. H. HAMMOND, JR

MODULATING REFLECTOR ADJUSTABLE AS TO NORMAL POSITION Filed Dee- 8, 19253 Sheets-Sheet 2 harzw Feb' 12, rgza J. H. HAMMOND, JR

MODULATING REFLECTOR ADJUSTABLE As 'ro NORMAL POSITION Filed De 8' 19255 Sheets- Sheet 5 Patented Feb. 12, 1929.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN HAYs HAMMOND, JR., or GLOUCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

MODULATING REFLECTOR ADJUSTABLE AS T0 NORMAL POSITION.

Application filed December This invention relates to improvements instringed musi al instruments, and more particularly to means formodifying and modulating the sound 'produced thereby.

The present invention features a sound modulator adapted particularlyfor a piano, incliuling mechanism adjustable in accordance with\f'ariations in the brilliancy of tuning olt the individual instrumentto which the device may be applied.

This ai'iplication is :in iinl'novement over application Serial No.753,558, liled by me December 23rd, 1924;.

I have Yround experimentally that when the modulating device shown anddescribed in the said prior application is entirely closed, many ot theharmonics ot the music are suppressed. The quality oi? the sound emittedtrom the instrun'ient is `.ifreatly changed, the sound sceming to bedeadened or dull. lt appears from my e.;pe`-.1ents, that the productionof harmonics i n important factor in the detern'iination ot the (pialityet sound emitted from a particular iiis.iiiiiient and in theeil'cctiveness` or "lbrilliance7 of tone. It is desirable that suchbrilliance be enhanced, if agreeable musical el ,its are to be produced.

Accordingly. it is one object of the present invention to provide amodulating means which may be adjusted into predetermined position inaccordance with the characteristics ot the instrument .fo as to enhancethe brilliance.

Another feature or the invention relates to the provision oi" me ne;whereby abrupt dea-dening olf the sound eilfectiif'ely avoided, thusproduc' e; more agreeable changes in expression in me music, andimproving the control of expression.

nol Feature relates to the provision or' :in indil .ing device 'orindicating the extent oi1 ne nel movement ol the sound modulating me;

Other objects will appear from the following' des ion alien inconnection with the accompa vingI drawings. in which Figi" l is a'liront elevation., with parts broken. way. ofi an instrument embodyingfeatures ci the invention;

liigure 2 is a horizon al section taken on the line 2--2 or Figure l: u

F ignre is a section of an enlarged detail s, 1925. serial No. 74,054.

of the mechanism taken on the line 2-2 of llligure l; and

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail in elevation of part or' the mechanismshown in Figure l and is shown in operation in relation to Figure 3,both iigures showing the mechanism in the normal position. Y

Figures 5 and G are the saine as Figures 3 and l, but with the mechanismin a partly closed position.

liligures 7 und 8 are similar to Figures 3 and 4 except that themechanism is in the fully closed position.

Figure 9 is an enlarged view partly in section or' the indicating devicein a modified term oit the invention.

Figure l0 is a bottom plan view of the mechanism shown in Figure 9.

Lilie reference characters denote like parts in the several figures etthe drawing.

In the following descriptions and claims, parts will be identified byAsgecilic names for convenience of expression, but they are intended. tobe as generic in their application to similar parte or the equivalentconstruction as the art will permit.

Referring to the drawing there is shown in Figure l. so much of astringed musical instrun'i'ent oi the type commonly designated p as agrand piano as is necessary to an understanding ot the invention. Asshown, there is provided a casing l0, suitably supported on i'eet suchas ll and having a lid part-ly shown at l), hinged as at i3, it beingunderstood that when in closed position, the hinged cover 12 iscoextensive with an' opening in the top of the casing 10.

For producing sound within the casing 10, there is provided a pluralityof tuned strings, which are tuned to the notes ot the musical scale ina. conventional manner. For craniple in the lower or bass part ot thescale, such as representefjl by strings 15, a single .'tring is tuned toeach note. In the intermediate portion ot the scale the strings 16, 17,are arranged in groups or' two strings each, a group being tuned to eachnote. In thel upper pol# tion of the scale the' strings 1S', 19', 20,are arranged in groups of three strings each. which ated through anaction 22 by a key in a conventional manner. The key 23 is one oi anumber of keys of a manual 24 representing the musical scale to beplayed by the piano. The strings are mounted in liXed position relativeto the casing l() being stretched across a suitable metal frameworkshown diagrammatically as at 2l'. The hammers 2l, the actions 22 and thekeys 23 of the manual 21k are mounted upon a movable frame 26 which isslidably mounted Within the casing;` 10, and which is normally held inpredetermined position with respect to the casing. The construction issuch that when the frame 26 is in the normal position as shown in Figurel, operation of a key 23 will cause the respective hammer 2l to strikethe respect-ive string' or group of strings and thus produce sound ot'predetermined pitch.

For ii'iodulating the sound produced by the piano,n the casing lO isprorided with a partition 30, positioned in a plane substantiallyparallel to and spaced apart i'rom the general plane oi the strings andis also provided with an oppositely positioned partition 31. Thepartition 30 is provided with an opening 32 having a series oiinodulatinp` reflectors such as 33 i'or variably controlling theopening. Similarly the partition 3l has an opening; provided with aseries oi modulatingr reflectors such as for vari ably closing the same.The reflect-ors are rotatably positioned in the opening' 3l ot' thepartition 30. Each re- `llector is provided on its inner face With asheet ol s und reliectinp; material such as sheet aluminum, and i sprovided with an operatinarm 36 and the several opera-ting arms oi thegroup are pivotally connected to a movable connecting rod 37. Similarly,each reflector 35 of the lower group is provider with an inner face oi"sound reflecting material and With an operating arm 38 and the severalopearting` arms of the lower group are pivotally connected to a movableconnecting rod For operatively interconnecting the upper connecting;vrod Si' and the lower connecting rod there is provided a vertical shaltel() journalcd in suitable bearing;I plates 41,42 and extending' through a bore in the casing l0. The shatflO is connected to theconnecting rod 37 at its upper end and to the connecting' f rod ut itslower and in likeI nnniner. and a description oi one et such connectionswill sufiice for both. Referring; to Figure the shaft 4l() has aiixedthereto au arni to which there is pivolally connected one end ot a linklo. The other end oi the link i6 is pivotally connected to therespective upper or lower connecting;` rod as shown in Figures l and 2.The shaft 40 is also provided with an operating arm 47 for a purposevwhich Will be subsequently set forth. For variably operating thereflectors 35 there is provided a pedal oand an upward ly extendingsliatt 5l. operated thereby. The upper end ot the shaft 5l engages onearm of a bell crank lever 52 which is pivotally mounted on a bracket orapron 153 secured to the casing;` l0. Secured to one arm ot this bellcrank is spring 53 engaging a cam-shaped stop 54:. The stop 54 issecured to a shaft 55 mounted for rotation in bearings 56. The shaft 55fits snugly in the bearings 5S so that it Will remain in any position inwhich it is lett. This shaft is provided with a pointer 57 which may beused for tuning the cani 54 and which indicates the position of this camon a graduated dial 58. Connected to the other end of the bell crank 52is a link 60, the otherrend of which is attached to the arin 47. Securedto the link ($0 is one end et a spring 6l the other end ol" which-fastened to a bracket 62 carried by the traine Work of the piano.

in the operation ot'the form of the invention shown in Figures l to Sthe pointer 57 manually set in any desiredposition dependinib` upon theamount it is desired to have the tone inooulating reflectors open whenthe pedal completely depressed. The initial position ot the mechanism.is shown in Figures 3 anda with the rod 5l in its lowest position andthe reflectors 35 open.

llllien it is desired to close the tone modulating reiiectors the pedal50 is depresse@ 'thereby elevating` the rod 5l which in turn rotates thebell crank in a counter clockwise direction. rlhis causes the link 6G tobe moved to the right which rotates the arm 47 and the shait l0 in acounter clockwise direction as seen in Figure 2. This rotates the twoarms and the two links i6 the right thus moving' the tivo rods 37 and 89to the right which causes the reflectors to be closed. This actioncontinues until the springr engages the stop 54 which stops the closingof the reiiectors thus leaving them slightly open, the amount ofopening' depending' upon the position of the stop 54; and therefore uponthe position of the pointer 57. The mechanism when in this position isshown in Fin"- urcs and 5. lf it is desired 'to completely closetliereflectors, more pressure is applied to the pedal 50, therebyrotatingthe bell crank against the action et' the spring 5S until themechanism is moved into the position shown in Figures 7 and 8. atl whichtime the reflectors will he completely.'v clr'fsed.

lt illus seen that in the normal operation ot this nuchanisin. theretlei'tors are never completely closed. but roniaii'i slightly open asshown in Figures and 6, It has been 'tound desirable completely, as whenthey a re entirely closed certain upper partials oi the notes are sup`pressed. thereby changing the quality of the music produced. The amountwhich the retlectors should be left open depends upon a number of factssuch as the type of piece being played the individual piana the roem notto close 'the retiactors llO ice

in which it is loca-ted, etc., so that this residual opening, as itmight be called, may be varied by changing the position 0f the stop 54as has already been stated. This can he done by moving the pointer 57 toany desired position before starting to pla-y the piano. If the pianistdesires to produce an extra soft eiteet, however7 the pedal may becompletely depressed by applying an extra pressure of the foot, therebyentirely closing the reflectors as shown in Figures 7 and 8.

lu the modified form of the invent-ion shown in Figures 9 and l0, thespring 53 is eliminated and the shaft y rotatably mounted in tivo armsto and {it} which are rigidly secured 'to a shaft mounted for rotationin two bea ings (3S and (39. Rigidly secured to the sha t G7 is an arm7l provided at its end with a ball T2 Which snugly tits in a rece, s T3provided in the traine Je which carries the piano action and `which isnormally held to the left by means ot the spring 2i' as previouslydescribed in connection with Figure l.

ln the operation of the modified Yforni of the invention shown inFigures 9 and l0, the pointer 5T .is set in any (ilesired position asalready described in Figures l to S. Then the pedal is depressed. therod 5l. will be elevated thus rotating the bell crank and closing thetone modulators as previously described` until the bell crank engagesthe stop 5ft. At this time the modulating retlectors will still beslightly open as in the position shown in Figure (5. As the pedal isstill 'further depresseththe stop 54;, together with the shaft 55 andthe two arms and 6G, will be rotated in a clockwise direction, there byrotating the arm 7l in a similar direction, thus moving the frame 26 tothe right against the action of the spring 27. rthis will move hammers2l to the right and bring them out ot' alignment with at least one ofthe strings in each group thereby lin-inging in the sott pedal action ofthe piano to be thrown on in a Well known manner.

ltis thus seen that the normal operation ot this mechanism is the saineas that described in connection with Figures l to 8. lt. however. thepedal is still further depressed, the tone modulators Will not only becompletely closed` but the soft pedal action ot' the piano will .bethrown on as well. thus producing an additional softening;r of the toneproduced by the piano.

The invention upon which this application is based broader than thespecific embodiment shown and described for the purpose of illustratingat least one of the ways in *which it may be employed. The scope of theinvention therefore to be Vunoerstood as not being limited by thepresent specific description. I intend no limitations other than thoseimposed by the claims.

that is claimed is:

l. ln a musical instrument., the combination Iwith a phuality ofstrings, means for supporting saidfstrings to permit free vibrationthereof, means tor vibrating the strings, sing surroimding the strings,said casing g apertures, a plurality of modulating ors positioned insaid apertures, each. having); a compressional wave reflecting surfaceon its inner face, an operatiny."` rod i'or rotating said reflectors todirect reflected wares in a desired direction with respect to the:asing, and an adjustable abut-ment positioned to Aengage said rod itercontrolling the normal extent otmovenient of said reflectors.

2. An instrument for producing damped compressioi'ial waves comprising avibratory clement, a casing therefor having apertures, a plurality ofsound reflectors rotatably positioned in said apertures formingcontrollable closures therefor for directing iva-ves produced by saidelementin a desired direction, and an adjustable stop device forcont-rolling the normal nun/'ement of said reflectors.

3. ln a. musical instrun'ient, the combination with a source of soundr`ot a casing surrounding said source and having an interior reflectingsurface to reflect sound, means for varying the amount of soundreflected back to the source from said surface, and an adjustable stopdevice for effectively limiting the movement ot' said varying means.

Ll. ln ay musical instrument, the combination with a source of sound, ofa casing surrounding said source, said casing having an aperture foremitting sound, an element positioned in said aperture having on itsinterior surface a. layer of sound reflecting n'iateriaL means forvariably positioning' said element to reflect desired proportions ofsound back into the. casing, and an abutment tor feite `ively limitingthe normal niovement of rf. means.

5. ln a musical instrument, the combination with a plurality of strings,mea-ns tor supporti 4 said strings to permit free vibration thereof,means for vibrating the strings. a casing surrounding the strings, saidcasing having apertures, a plurality of nnnlulating reflectors rotatablypositioned in said apertures to control the effective opening ot' saidapertures cach having a connnessional wave reflecting surface on itsinner face` means 'tor rotating said reflect-:irs to direct reflectedtraves in a desired direction with respect to the casiire.y andadjustable means for eliectively preventing the Yt'ull movement of saidrotating means.

6. An instrlunent for producing damped compressional waves comprising avibratory element, a support for said element a casing hai-'ingcontrollable apertures, a plurality of sound reflectors rotatablypositioned in said apertures for controlling the effective openw ing ofsaid apertures, and adjustable means for effectively limiting then'iiniinuin opening of said apertures.

7. In amusical instrument,tlie combination with a source of sound, of acasing surrounding said source and liaving an interior reflectingsurface to reflect sound, said casing having apertures, rotatablereflectors positioned in tlic apertures, means for-rotating saidreflectors to control the effective opening` of said apertures, and anadjustable stop device for effectively limit-ing the niovenient saidmeans in one direction.

in a musical instrument, the combination with a pliufalit)7 oi' strings,means for support-ing eacli of said strings for permitting freevibration thereof', and means for vibrating tlie strings, a casingsurrounding the strings, said casing' having apertures, a plurality ofmodulating reflectors positioned in said apertures, eacli having' aycompressional wave reflecting surface on its inner face,

means for rotating said reflectors to direct reflected Waves in adesired direction with respect to the casing, an adjustable lontyielding abutment for controlling' the normal extent of. movement ofsaid means arranged to permit additional movement thereof.

9. In a musical instrument, the combination with a plurality of'strings, means for supporting said strings to permit free vibrationthereof, means for vibrating tlie stri; es, a casing surrounding tlie.st-rines, said cas C; having apertures, a plurality of modulatingreflectors rotatably positioned in said apertures to control tlieeffective opening' of said apertures each having a compressional Wavereflecting surface on its inner face, means for rotating said reflectorsto direct reflected Waves in a desired direction with respect to thecasing, adjustable means cooperatin with sait rotating means forpreventing the full closure of said apertures by said reflectors, and anindicating` device 'for indicating tlie extent of least opening' of tlieapertures.

l0. An instrument for producing damped compressional Waves comprising avibratorj,Y element, a casing` therefor liaving controllable apertures,a plurality of sound reflectors rotatably positioned in said aperturesfor controlling tlie effective opening` of said apertures, adjustablemeans for limiting tlie ruininiuin opening of said apertures, and aninuicator 'for indicating, the extent of i'ninimuni opening.

1l. In a musical instrument, tlie combination with a source of sound, ofa casing surrounding said source and liaif'ing an interior reflectingsurface to reflect sound, said casing having apertures, rotatablereiiectorsr positioned in the apertures, 'leans for rota-ting saidreflectors to control the elfective opening of said apertures, anad'ustable stop device for limiting the movement of said rotating meansto limit the rotation of said reflectors reflecting means controlledentirely at tlie Will in one direction,I and an. Vindicator forindicating the adjustment of said stop device.

l2. In a musical instrument, the combination Witli a plurality ofstrings, means for supporting said strings, means for Vibrating' thestrings, a casing surrounding the strings, said casing having'apertures, a plurality of modulating reflectors rotatably positioned insaid apertures to control the effective opening of said apertures eachliaving a compressional wave reflecting surface on its inner face, meansfor rotating said re Vflectors 'to direct reflected Waves in a desireddirection with respect to the casing', a spring having relatively strongtension for controlling' tlie extent of movement of tlie rotating means.and a cam 'for varying the effectiveness or said spring.

13. An instrument for ,n'oducing damped compressional Waves comprising avibrator;7 element, a casing therefor having controllable apertures, aplurality of sound reflectors rotatably positioned in said apertures forcontrolling tlie effect-ive opening of said apertures, an operatingelement connected to said reflectors for rotating the same, and ayielding abutment in the path of movementof the operating element foreffectively limiting tlie movement of the reflectors.

In a musical instrument, the combinasource of sound, of a casing sursaidsource and having an interior surface to reflect sound, said casing'having' apertures, rotatable reflectors positioned in the apertures, an'operating memloer for rotating said reflectors to control the effectiveopening' of said apertures, a leaf spring positioned in the path of movment of said member, and a cam engaging said spring and arrane'ed tovary the position of the spring relative to said operating member.

l5. in a musical instrument, the combination with a piano, of a casinghaving sound openings, a plurality of normally open centrally pivotedclosures for said openings, of an operator for variably positioning saidclosures to control the intensity of sustained notes, meansinterconnecting said controlled means and said closures, and adjustablemeans for limiting the minimum opening of said closures.

1G. in a musical stringi-d instrument, the combination u'ili a piane,for suppressing tlie sound produced thereby including' a. casing havinga lajy'er of sound insula ting material, and having openings for theemission of sound, apliiirality of normally open centrally pivotedclosures controlled entirelf,7 at the will of an operator, a pedal forvarialely controlling' said closures to '-l. tion 'with ro ending modifytlie intensity of sustained notes, means operatively interconnectingsaid pedal and said closures, adjustable means for limiting the minimumopening of said closures,

and an indicator for indicating' the extent 0f mi nim um openn 0'.

l?. in u musical instrument of the pel*- eweve type, the Combinationwith tuned nge, und means for sl'lpelng said strings Q0 permit free\f*1`b1'f1,t0n thereof, of a Gaming having oppesiely disp0sed apertures,

eontrehdde closures for said apertures, und :uvljustable means forlimiting the extent of mfwement 01? said Closures.

Signed at New York, n the county of New York :1nd State 0i New York thisseventh dej; of December, A. D. 1925.

JOHN HAYS HAMMOND, JR.

